Age: 39
female
Lea Michele Sarfati (born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. A soprano with a vocal range spanning multiple octaves, she is known for her performances on both screen and stage. Michele has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2010 and 2023. Born and raised in New York City, Michele is of Italian and Sephardic Jewish descent. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of Les Misérables (1995–1996), Ragtime (1997–1999), Fiddler on the Roof (2004–2005), and Spring Awakening (2006–2008). She rose to fame as overachieving high school student Rachel Berry on the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee (2009–2015). Her performance earned critical acclaim, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Along with the cast, Michele received three Grammy Award nominations for music from the series, which also produced multiple Billboard-charting singles. Her portrayal of Berry became a defining role of 2010s television, influencing a generation of young performers and helping to popularize musical television worldwide. Michele made her feature film debut in New Year’s Eve (2011) and signed with Columbia Records in 2012. She released her debut single, “Cannonball,” in 2013, followed by her first studio album Louder (2014), which debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. Her subsequent albums include Places (2017), Christmas in the City (2019), and Forever (2021). Known for her expressive, Broadway-trained voice and emotional delivery, Michele has been praised for her ability to blend theatrical performance with contemporary pop sensibilities. She has also authored two books: Brunette Ambition (2014) and You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life (2015). In 2022, Michele returned to Broadway to star as Fanny Brice in the revival of Funny Girl, earning widespread acclaim for her performance. She is set to return to the stage in 2025, starring as Florence in the first-ever Broadway revival of Chess, opposite Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher. Following her acclaimed work in Funny Girl, Michele continues to be recognized as one of Broadway’s leading performers of her generation, maintaining an active presence in theater, music, and on screen.
A Chorus Line examines one day in the lives of seventeen dancers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway musical. After the first round of cuts, Zach, the director and choreographer, asks each dancer to speak about themselves. Discomfort opens into revelation, confession leads to redemption, and within the bright, outwardly homogenous chorus, the audience begins to see each dancer’s individuality. From Cassie, the star who just needs the “music and the mirror and the chance to dance,” to Val, a small-town girl with a brand-new big-town body, to Mike, who took his sister’s place in dance class, saying “I can do that.” Based on real Broadway dancers’ stories, as told to fellow dancer and choreographer Michael Bennett, A Chorus Line is funny, heartbreaking, and refreshingly honest.
